L-citrulline as Alternative Pharmacological Substance in Protecting Against Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has contributed average 30% of global death diagnoses. Attempts of physicians to transiently relieve CVD came down to using focally targeted drugs. Struggle to find other treatment strategies is done to discover alternatives that serve to not only cure, but also prevent CVDs, or that do not require such a precise administration in order to minimize side-effects. This review would offer using L-citrulline as potential therapeutics in treating and preventing CVDs. This compound, found mostly in Citrus sp., contains chemical trait that could affect other bodily physiology, especially boosting nitric oxide (NO) production. Enhancing NO bioavailability suppresses the risk of myocardial oxidative stress due to ischemia and cardiac pressure-overload, as well as pulmonary hypertension. So, understanding of L-citrulline effects on endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway in generation of NO and its uncoupling mechanisms may serve as fundamental treatment for oxidative stress-induced cardiovascular diseases with or without prophylaxis.

Keywords

• citrulline
• cardiovascular
• pharmacology
• nitric oxide